Republican presidential candidate John Kasich spoke to a crowd of supporters Tuesday night after winning his home state of Ohio in the GOP primary, promising to unite Americans toward a common purpose and create economic opportunity.
"The challenges that we have, we can go to Washington in the first 100 days, fix these problems with a shock and awe agenda that can pass," Kasich told his supporters. "I think we can rally the people in Washington, because I’m going to remind them that before we’re Republicans and Democrats, we’re Americans. And we have an obligation to our children."
Kasich also touted his record running the Buckeye State, describing how he turned a deficit into a surplus and lowered the unemployment rate.
He spent much of his speech trying to inspire each individual to search for their larger purpose, before assuring supporters that he will remain in the race and is in it for the long haul.
"But here’s what I want you know," Kasich said. "We’ve got one more trip around Ohio this coming fall where we will beat Hillary Clinton and I will become president of the United States."
At the beginning of his speech, Kasich asked the audience to take a moment and applaud his primary opponent, Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.), who announced earlier in the night that he was suspending his campaign after a disappointing loss in his home state of Florida.
Kasich now remains one of three candidates left in the GOP primary along with Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas) and real estate mogul Donald Trump, the latter of whom maintained his frontrunner status Tuesday night with victories in Florida, Illinois, and North Carolina at the time of Kasich’s speech.
Ohio was Kasich’s first win during the 2016 campaign, and he remains far behind in the delegate count.